Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Thursday stressed on the need for doing away with the middlemen menace in the state where local farm and horticulture produces are bought at throwaway prices but sold at higher prices outside the state.
Taking part in the first meeting of the High Powered Committee of Chief Ministers for Transformation of Indian Agriculture, jointly chaired by Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and his Maharashtra counterpart Devendra Fadnavis at NITI Aayog in New Delhi on Thursday, Khandu said, “To help farmers to have proper access to markets, the state government has enacted the Arunachal Pradesh Agriculture Produce and Livestock Marketing Act 2018.”
The CM said the high priority has been given to the development of agriculture and allied sector in Arunachal Pradesh by earmarking maximum funds for this sector in the Arunachal Pradesh Budget 2018, an official statement said in Itanagar.
To end the intermediaries in the sale of farm produce, the budget has also allocated funds for the construction of wholesale market-cum-auction centres across the state, which will be linked with e-NAM so that products can be sold online, Khandu informed.
Highlighting on other challenges faced, the chief minister said since Arunachal is a late starter in agriculture and horticulture sector, it will require continuous support from the centre particularly in identifying state-specific farm produces and varieties that can be exported.
He specifically urged the Centre to assist the state in helping to identify the varieties of exportable species of orchids, flowers and horticulture crops.
